The 5 W’s: Drop Strategies & Benefits of Token Ownership

Who, What, Where, When, Why and How to #MintWithMint

Everything is changing as more brands and agencies dip their toe into the NFT and web3 space. New projects, platforms, and partnerships are creating a pivotal moment in digital that call on marketers, once again, to lead, follow, or ultimately get run over.

Maybe you believe that cryptocurrency is just an inflationary hedge. Maybe you’re still figuring out social media, or think blockchains are for tech nerds. Maybe you are waiting for the NFT bubble to burst. Or maybe you’ve already “Aped” your way into a fun community AND financial gain. Maybe you see that engagement and awareness opportunities are realistic and achievable goals RIGHT NOW. Maybe your CEO, CMO, or even CRO is asking for POVs.

No matter what, innovation and curiosity are giving way to activation, entertainment, and utility. Brands, agencies, and technology platforms will, once again, create a holy trinity for success in web3. And there will be no shortage of opportunities when you #MintWithMint.

The Who: Identify and Understand Your Audience

Not everyone in your community may be ready for NFTs. Others may still be in pandemic recovery mode. Empathy, patience and understanding should be part of the messaging no matter what. With the following checklist and flow chart of questions, brands can launch a successful NFT strategy and transition to a Web3 framework:

1. Do you have an engaged, established, multi-platform community?
- If yes: Let’s go!
- If no: Without fans and a universe of potential collectors who feel passionately about your product or service, you won’t make it.

2. Define who are they?
- The early adopters / current Web3 community may not be in your existing audience and may have different ideas / needs. Is your community already into Web3? If so, how and why?

3. Does the community support your company mission and values?
- There will be some education required to welcome your community into this space, but it could also be a distraction from your original offering. NFT marketing and strategy will become a new theme in the marketing mix.

4. Why should they care?
- Is there added value you can pass along to your community? We’ve passed the “cash grab” phase, so actual utility is required to create value and reason to support your digital asset creation.

The What: NFTs as Experience and Ownership Tokens

NFTs allow brands to unlock the power of the blockchain to create rich and engaging experiences for your audience. File types can be static images or video clips, 3-D renderings or even audio/music clips. They can be thought of as collectibles, artwork, event tickets, music and media, gaming pieces, virtual items, identity tags, memes, even domain names:

• Collectibles: The first example of collectible NFTs emerged with Cryptokitties. This project became so popular in 2017 that they congested the Ethereum network. They are basically digital kittens with distinct traits that make them more or less popular and favorable than others.

• Artwork: Artwork is also another prominent NFT application. The most common types of non-fungible tokens in this domain refer to programmable art, which features the unique blend of creativity and technology. There are many limited-edition pieces of art in circulation with the scope for programmability under certain conditions. The use of oracles and smart contracts help artists in creating images, which are represented on blockchain networks. Digital art NFTs have also encouraged participation from the legacy arts community. The possibilities of combining blockchain and IoT together could offer interesting prospects for scanning a code or sticker on assets. Subsequently, users could also find out the complete history of an artwork on the blockchain, such as previous owners and the prices for which they were sold in the past.
• Event Tickets: Another promising type of NFTs, tokenized tickets allow people attending events such as music festivals and concerts to verify their identity. Event managers could mint a specific number of NFT tickets on a selected blockchain platform. Customers could purchase the tickets through an auction and store them in their wallets with easy accessibility through mobile devices.
• Music and Media: The music and media industries also experimenting with NFTs. Because NFTs can be a variety of file types, individuals with “true ownership” claim to access the files. The two prominent platforms which help artists in minting their songs as NFTs include Rarible and Mintbase. While artists benefit from connecting directly to their followers and new audience, the listeners and fans get a premium experience. The exclusivity in purchasing NFT music is one of the foremost reasons for infusing traits of vintage vinyl records. Music NFTs can also address concerns of music piracy and intermediaries.
• Gaming Pieces: NFTs have evoked profound levels of interest among game developers, especially with in-game items. Ownership records drive the growth of in-game economies. While in-game collectibles were common requirements for an enhanced gaming experience, NFTs have the potential for changing their value. In-game NFTs could easily help contain transactions taking place outside the game. On the other hand, game developers (or the creators issuing NFTs) could earn a royalty for every sale of items in an open marketplace.
• Identity Tags: One of the crucial traits of non fungible tokens is scarcity. Every NFT is unique and is not interchangeable with any other token. Identity NFTs work similarly to event tickets NFTs. They are unique identifiers, thereby serving as reliable support for identity management systems. The common applications of identity-based NFTs are minting certifications and licenses for proving and verifying records of an individual. In addition, identity-based NFTs could also ensure that people can store proof of their identity without any risk of losing it.
• Memes: The most significant advancement in the domain of NFTs in recent times is the sale of memes as NFTs. While quite popular culture and an instant favorite among internet users, memes have also been associated with NFTs. The sale of memes as NFTs showcases the potential for unique meme creators to participate in an evolving, futuristic ecosystem.
• Domain Names: Decentralized Domain Name Services, such as Unstoppable Domains and the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), are the top examples of domain name NFTs. ENS can help in translating long and complex user addresses to a flexible and friendly experience for users with easier onboarding.
• Real-world Assets: Even though there are relatively few NFTs that function as tokens for real-world items, we’re likely to see more of them coming fast. For example, many NFT projects presently focus on the tokenization of real estate alongside luxury goods. NFTs are basically deeds, and we may soon see home or car purchases made with a cryptographic proof of ownership.

The Where: Your Own Branded Environment

While some brands, artists and creators choose to play in someone else’s playground, we know this can be an overwhelming, open sea. With the next generation of NFTs, we have an opportunity (obligation?) to create and provide value to fans, consumers and collectors. It starts with demystifying the experience and lowering the barrier to entry.

The MINT Ecosystem: Storefront, NFT Viewer/Wallet, and Marketplace

Brands (the “merchant”) are provided with a simplified ecosystem, a platform to build a more engaging community. Our platform is designed so that digital tokens and assets can become an innovative engagement tool, allowing your community to deepen its bond with your brand in the form of access, rewards, IRL experiences, even gated commerce and the opportunity to vote in company or product/service decisions.

The When: You’re Not Too Late…

…or too early.
Now is the time.
Let’s GO!

The Why: Unlock the Value Exchange

NFT experiences should be accessible, seamless, meaningful, and on-brand. With Mint, brands get a simplified, streamlined experience to sell NFTs, launch branded marketplaces, and provide seamless transactions, interactions, and utility for collectors.

Your Customers Get With Mint:

• No Fees: The Flow blockchain has much lower transaction fees, meaning merchants can offer lower-priced NFTs accessible to the general consumer. The application takes care of all blockchain complexities on the user’s behalf. Transactions are “gasless” (free) and seamless for all collectors on the primary market.
• Easy Purchases: With a familiar ecommerce experience, users can pay with credit card payment & email as a unique identifier
• Low Energy Consumption: The Flow blockchain works on Proof of Stake therefore benefits from low energy requirements, providing environmentally sustainable features at scale
• Integrated Wallet: Consumers can access their wallet through their email through a merchant branded self-hosted wallet.

The How: Creating the Right Drop Strategy

The right drop strategy for marketers and merchants must adhere to, and connect within, the larger marketing and media plan. Without proper comms, planning and community management support, your NFT drop may see limited success. Not selling out is the worst case scenario. But success is different for each brand, but when you #MintWithMINT, we focus on four key variables: tiers, types, timing, & tools.

1. Tiers. With scarcity and rarity creating value and benefits of different kinds, each edition can have multiple levels (ie: gold, silver, diamond). They can be randomized or pre-set, but each set within an edition is unique.
2. Types. NFTs can be accessed via different methods: ecommerce, physical purchase, QR codes, auctions, even airdropped right to a wallet. Single-type drop or multi-drops (sets vs 1-of-1 vs packs).
3. Timing. The duration and number of drops within a campaign should directly be tied to the benefits, challenges, and incentives.
4. Tools. NFTs and campaigns must provide meaning and value to collectors and consumers: Utility, community engagement, rewards and challenges, activations, exclusive merch, unlock and access.

If You’ve Made It This Far…

…you’ve already found the right technology platform. Mint simplifies the experience for brands to sell NFTs, launch branded marketplaces, and provide seamless transactions, interactions, and utility for collectors. Our application connects to your ecommerce (Shopify) storefront with the connected NFT Viewer, secondary marketplace and back-end minting dashboard (think of it like a CMS).

Our team is made up of blockchain experts and digital marketing/content and strategy veterans. We’ve also got an incredible network of asset creators, strategists and agencies to provide even more end-to-end support. Get this right, and the future of community-building, relationship-building, and brand-building becomes much smoother sailing.